Hostilities are hot right now between Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. Ryan told Jake Tapper he’s not ready to support Trump, insisting the latter needs to prove he can unite the party. Trump said he was “blindsided” by Ryan’s remarks and his campaign released a snide statement that the candidate wasn’t “ready” to support Ryan’s agenda. Trump surrogate Sarah Palin is leading the charge against the speaker, doing her part to help unseat him by endorsing his primary opponent. Trump and Ryan are meeting this Thursday in an attempt to find some common ground, but that may be easier said than done, as this Politico article suggests. Ryan did say, however, that he would step down as the GOP convention chair if that’s what Trump wants.
Republican Primary
In addition to picking fights with the speaker of the House, Donald Trump is also aiming his fire at former President Bill Clinton. Hillary has played the “woman’s card” and is an “enabler” for her husband’s sordid past, Trump argued, meaning that the 41st president is fair game.
Endorsements: One of Trump’s earliest and most controversial comments came when he questioned John McCain’s status as war hero. “I like people who weren’t captured,” he said last July at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit. Yet, on Sunday, McCain suggested all was forgotten and urged the Republican Party to unite behind Trump’s candidacy. McCain has some incentive to support Trump, considering his Senate seat in Arizona has never been more vulnerable. Former Vice President Dick Cheney will also be supporting Trump, he told CNN on Friday.
Absolutely Nots: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whom Trump dubbed “low energy” in the early stages of the 2016 campaign, said he will not be voting for either Trump or Clinton this November. Trump “has not displayed a respect for the Constitution,” Bush wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said more of the same in his own message on Twitter, questioning Trump’s conservative credentials.
I also cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump because I do not believe he is a reliable Republican conservative....(4)
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 6, 2016
VP Rumors: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was surprised to find she was not on the shortlist for Trump’s vice presidential pick. She would “of course” be willing to serve as his running mate, eager to help his campaign in any way possible. Trump's team is rumored to be vetting New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez for the job, along with Trump's former 2016 competitors Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. John Kasich.
Democratic Primary
Hillary Clinton: Clinton won the Guam Democratic caucus on Saturday, yet the contest offered only a handful of delegates. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, picked up 31 delegates now that the Washington primary prizes have finally been distributed. In addition to her struggle in putting away the democratic socialist, Clinton is still facing fallout for her email scandal and GOP operatives are working hard to uncover her shielded Wall Street transcripts.
Thanks to her anti-coal comments this past March, Clinton faces a hostile West Virginia ahead of Tuesday’s primary. She has, however, gained a tepid endorsement from conservative-libertarian P.J. O’Rourke.
Bernie Sanders: The Vermont senator leads Clinton in West Virginia in recent polls. The RealClearPolitics average gives him a 6-point edge. In fact, Politico predicts that Sanders is looking at a May win streak.
Delegate Count
Republicans (1,237 needed to win nomination)
Trump - 1,068
Democrats (2,383 needed to win nomination)
Clinton - Total: 2,228 (Pledged delegates: 1,705; Superdelegates: 523)
Sanders - Total: 1,454 (Pledged delegates: 1,415; Superdelegates: 39)
Primary Schedule
Tuesday, May 10 - D/R Primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia
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